Johannes Hörnig

Johannes Hörnig
Johannes Hörnig
Born	1 April 1921; Germany
Died	24 January 2001 (aged 79); Berlin, Germany
Occupation	Politician
Political party	SPD; SED

Johannes "Hannes" Hörnig (1 April 1921 – 24 January 2001) was an

East German politician

.

From 1955 till 1989 he headed the Science Department of the ruling party Central Committee, and for more than twenty years, from 1967 till 1989, he was himself a member of the powerful Party Central Committee.^[1]

Life

Johannes Hörnig was born into a working-class family in Leppersdorf a small village between Dresden and Bautzen. The population of the village had declined significantly in recent decades thanks to the lure of higher wages in the industrialising towns and cities of eastern Saxony. His father was a factory worker. In 1935 the younger Hörnig undertook an apprenticeship with Gläser-Karosserie, a bespoke coachbuilder (car-body manufacturer), in nearby Radeberg. He stayed with the firm till 1940, which is when he reached the age of 19 and joined the army, rising to the rank of junior officer in the armory division by 1945.^[1]

Social Sciences.^[1]

His degree from the Party Academy marked a change in career direction: in 1953 Hörnig took a job working for the

national legislature (Volkskammer) nor with government ministers, but with the ruling party. Hörnig's work for the party central committee therefore placed him at the heart of the nation's power structure. In 1963 his own name appeared on the list of candidates for Central Committee membership, and in 1967 he became one of the (by this stage) 131 Central Committee members. He continued to serve as a Central Committee member till 1989.^[1]

The breach of the Berlin Wall in

German Democratic Republic and, in October 1990, to German reunification. In the meantime, during November and December 1989 there were numerous resignations from positions of political power: this included the resignation of the Party Central Committee. During these final months of 1989 Johannes Hörnig's political career also ended.^[1]

Awards and honours

1959 Patriotic Order of Merit in Bronze
1971 Patriotic Order of Merit in Silver
1972 Distinguished Service Medal of the National People's Army
1975 Battle order "for Services to The People and The Fatherland"
1976 Distinguished Service Medal of the National People's Army
1980 Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold
1981 Patriotic Order of Merit Gold Clasp
1984 Hero of Labour (GDR)
Honorary doctorate and professorship "Karl Marx University", Leipzig

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Andreas Herbst; Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Hörnig, Johannes * 1.4.1921, † 24.1.2001 Leiter der Abteilung Wissenschaft des ZK der SED" (in German). Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 15 June 2015.

[BiographischeDatenbankenJH-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Andreas Herbst; Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Hörnig, Johannes * 1.4.1921, † 24.1.2001 Leiter der Abteilung Wissenschaft des ZK der SED" (in German). Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 15 June 2015.

[1]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Germany United States
People	Deutsche Biographie